In the spotlight: London Borough of Brent

This month we take a look at North West London’s regeneration hotbed, which is home to the UK’s most marginal constituency seat

Where is it?

The London Borough of Brent is located in North West London, bordering Harrow and Ealing to the west and Barnet and Camden to the east. Its major areas are Wembley, Cricklewood, Willesden and Kilburn. Harlesden, Neasden, Dollis Hill, Kenton and parts of Colindale also fall within its boundaries.

Who lives there?

The 2011 census showed Brent to have a population of 312,200. The borough is densely populated and is one of only two in the country where the majority of its residents are from a Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) background.

What is it famous for?

The borough is home to Wembley Stadium and the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir temple in Neasden, the largest Hindu temple outside India.

What is the political landscape like?

Of the 63 councillors in the borough, Labour boasts a significant majority, with 56 seats, while the Conservatives have six and the Liberal Democrats have one. After the abolition of the Brent South and Brent East seats before the 2010 election, three constituency seats will be fought over in this year’s general election – Brent Central (currently a Liberal Democrat marginal seat), Brent North (Labour) and Hampstead and Kilburn, which was the most marginal seat in the 2010 election, with Labour winning by 42 seats.

What do houses cost?

The average property in Brent costs £427,628, with a detached property averaging £764,751, a semi-detached home £516,147, a terraced home £486,995 and a flat £345,614.

Huge price increases in early 2014 in Queen’s Park sent a ripple throughout the borough, aided by the gentrification of Kensal Rise and Willesden Green. In the past five years the average house price increase in the borough has been £156,731. Last month, Brent experienced the highest monthly price rise of all London boroughs, with prices going up by 1.9%.

Are there any regeneration projects underway?

Wembley

Wembley is currently undergoing one of the most ambitious regeneration projects in the UK, with plans afoot to build 10,000 more new homes (including affordable housing) in the next 10 years. Since 2001, there has already been a 10% increase in the number of households in Wembley, and this is set to continue apace with 475 new homes currently being built and 4,000 more in the pipeline.

Around 800 homes are expected to be built on eight hectares of brownfield land here by 2026.

Barham Park Estate

Upon completion of the Barham Park Estate project in 2017, 338 new homes will have been provided. The third phase (offering 27 homes for social rent, 34 for Shared Ownership and 61 private sale units) began in March.

New Homes

Silver Works by Galliard Homes
Colindale

Silver Works is an elegant courtyard development of 191 new homes located at Grove Park in the heart of Colindale, with prices starting at £262,500.

Private entrance lobbies and lifts serve each apartment building, with apartments and town houses benefiting from highly refined and superior specification. Ideally located so as to benefit from excellent local transport links, Silver Works is just 10 minutes’ walk from Colindale underground station.

Designed by Grid Architects, Emerald Gardens is the current phase of the North West Village development and offers 427 private apartments in seven buildings, set in almost an acre of gardens.

Maple House is one of the stunning apartment buildings within Emerald Gardens, ranging across six storeys, and has a range of studio, 1 and 2 bedroom apartments available, priced from £305,000 to £560,000.

Architecturally, all of the Emerald Gardens buildings look back to the golden age of skyscraper buildings as seen in 19th century Chicago, but updated to the contemporary surroundings, and Maple House follows this precedent. The majority of the Maple House apartments have their own private balcony or terrace.